Queen Elizabeth Stakes Field

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes field can be run with a maximum of 14 runners but the Group 1 event does not always draw a capacity field; with quality over quantity generally the scenario for the feature event of Sydney’s ‘The Championships’. The increased prizemoney of offer for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, with the race now worth a generous $4 million, is expected to see the competition for places in the field heat-up.

In the past decade the feature has run at a capacity field of 14 twice when Pompeii Ruler won in 2009 and Lucia Valentina saluted in 2016.

Horses that win the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes (2000m), Group 1 The BMW (2400m), Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) and the Group 1 Australian Derby (2400m) gain automatic entry into the Queen Elizabeth Stakes field with ballot exemption on offer to those earlier autumn carnival champions.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes draws the best weight-for-age horses from right around Australia and the Australian Turf Club (ATC) is hopeful that the race can become the true Australian Weight-For-Age Championship of the season rivalling even the spring’s Group 1 Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley; with the best three-year-olds in the country taking on the older horses. $4 million in prizemoney makes the Queen Elizabeth Stakes one of the most lucrative races on the global racing calendar and the event is expected to feature a number of horses from right around the globe in future years.

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes Field faces off on Day 2 of The Championships on .

2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes Field

The final 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes field is released by Racing NSW on the Tuesday before the race and will be published below on April 4, 2017.

2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes First Acceptances

About a month after the nominations are taken for the autumn’s richest race the list of potential runners is narrowed down with the Queen Elizabeth Stakes first acceptances closing in early March.

The 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes first acceptances closed on Tuesday March 7, 2017 and can be found here.

2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes Nominations

The Queen Elizabeth Stakes nominations close in early February, two months before the race headlines the second of two The Championships race days at Royal Randwick in April during the Sydney Autumn Racing Carnival.

Each year the Queen Elizabeth Stakes early entries can attract up to 100 weight-for-age hopefuls before the first round of acceptances narrows down the list of hopefuls.

The 2017 Queen Elizabeth Stakes nominations were announced by Racing NSWaround February 6, 2017 and can be found here.